Water Pressure 666

I woke a time or two after 5am but didn’t roll out of bed for good until 540am. I quickly brushed my teeth then slipped out of the bedroom turning off ceiling fan on my way downstairs. It was chilly in the house despite Mindy closing the windows and setting the furnace to 60 degrees just in case.

Coffee brewing was already well underway as I slipped into my exercise shoes. I took a brief glance out the back door looking towards the sky. Completely clear and lots of stars. My legs felt looser than they have in a few days, no doubt a byproduct of having Mindy massage them and then lube them up with Bengay just before she headed off to bed. I hoped the looseness would carry over to the running trail. I whipped out 50 sit-ups, windmills, then 50 push-ups all in about the next 7 or 8 minutes. It didn’t take long. Before coffee and internet, I remembered that it was trash and recycling day but we had taken care of neither. I drug both cans to the curb before doing anything else.

It was 555am when I headed to my PC with a cup of hot coffee. Yum! One of the first things I checked was the final score of the SNF game. Ravens beat the Patriots on a controversial last second field goal. I checked the weather too. It was chilly, only 41 degrees. I temporarily left my coffee and the internet behind in order to wake Mindy and deliver her coffee. She asked that I close the bedroom window she left cracked open the night before. I walked by Jacob’s room and could see light emanating from under the doorway. I turned around and headed back downstairs. I then played around online for another 10 minutes or so until 620am.

Next up was meditation and stretching. Both went well. My freshly laundered running clothes were still in the dryer. I only pulled out what I needed for the day’s run leaving the folding and putting away for another time. I was ready to head out at 635am. Felt good to be on schedule. I headed off on my 4.1 mile run, my legs feeling pretty good, at least initially. The trash truck had just started into our subdivision as I completed my warm-up lap. I ran the first 2.5 miles or so in darkness though I could see daybreak was fast approaching. I completed the run feeling pretty good throughout.

By the time I was back at home both the trash and the recycling had been emptied. I drug the trash can back to its staging area and then the recycling can in front of the overhead garage door all before heading in. The pug hadn’t been walked and wasn’t even out of bed and downstairs. Bella brought me the leash then called to the pug. I could hear her coming. I waited just out of view, otherwise she often stops to play a game of cat and mouse. Not sure why.

Eiknarf was extra disruptive during our walk, barking at anything and everything that she saw. Very annoying. She never did poop, only peed. We were out long enough for her to take care of both and then some. We headed back inside where I enjoyed my waiting breakfast. Bella had a fresh bowl of Frosted Flakes apparently going to waste. She also had another pile of dry flakes on the table next to her bowl. She went on to describe an accident of sorts when she was refilling her bowl. Bella!

I headed up for a shower later than usual. It had to be near 745am. In kind, I wasn’t back downstairs until almost 805am. There wasn’t much time before we needed to head out for the bus. I used the few minutes I had to throw together my lunch. We headed out at the usual time of 810am. I wore my thick fleece jacket since it was the only one convenient. It was a bit overkill at that point as the sunshine warmed things up a little. The bus was by a couple minutes later. Chrissy and I chatted briefly before heading our separate ways.

I enjoyed another cup of coffee while packing up for work. I had to log off my laptop among everything else. There was frost on the Accord earlier but mostly melted by the time I headed out to leave. I had to squeegee the windows while the car warmed. There were small chunks of solid ice still clinging along the trunk and rear windshield. Wow! I wasn’t on the road until 845am. My boss sent me an email earlier that morning or possibly the night before asking me to stop by so we could talk about the weekend coverage thing. That, of course, was in response to one I sent to him.

I sort of wished I hadn’t sent it, though I still felt the same about the issue. I just didn’t want to make a huge deal of it. Just the same, it was probably a good idea to get a clearer understanding of the expectations. Arrived at the office near 9am but it was 915am by the time I was completely settled and logged on. Like a lot of Monday’s, I was quickly inundated with questions and requests for help. My boss ended up stopping by my office. He waited while I took care of the issue I was presently dealing with.

After some small talk he apologized for the misunderstanding. Basically said he owned the communication problem. He went on to share that I did far more than he ever expected with the issue that brought the whole thing on. The rest of my day wasn’t nearly as hectic as the first hour or so. And thank goodness! I was even able to squeeze in the 3rd of five part series of online classes I need to complete. If all goes well, I'll have the program finished by the end of next week, or possibly even sooner.

I didn't take a real lunch hour but did take some time for myself. I wasn't that hungry, so I ended up leaving my salad in the fridge. I did, however, eat the cheese and fruit that I packed. I decided to wrap up my work day about an hour early. At 430pm I started prepping for departure. I called Mindy once I was on the road for home. She was surprised that I was already on my way home. Admittedly, it's a rare occasion that I leave work before 5pm. Since Jimaken was coming to take the kids to dinner, she asked my preference for going out or staying in. I didn't really want to go anywhere and suggested we simply stay at home and enjoy leftover lasagna. She seemed OK with that too. We terminated our conversation when Jimaken showed up to get the kids.

Jimaken was still at the house when I got home but not for long. They left the house by 450pm. Mindy already had the lasagna out to be warmed. While she prepped our leftover lasagna I finally got around to opening our water bill that showed up in the mail last Saturday. I half expected it to be somewhere close to $500, which would be the highest ever, but when I opened it even that number paled in comparison to the $666 total. I about fell over. Surely there had to be a mistake. One thing's for certain, we ran the irrigation system hard this summer and with few 'turn-offs'. In fact there were a handful of days when I ran certain zones twice. I planned to dig out the last two bills to compare meter readings. We did have the main meter replaced in the spring. I thought that might account for a potential mistake. I opted to sit it aside and not worry about it. Our lawn certainly looks nice whereas those without irrigation systems now have ruined lawns. Nothing's free.

I had two small pieces of lasagna. I was anxious to try a piece of Mindy's homemade apple pie. She and the kids already had a piece when they got home from school. It was good, but probably not her best. For my money it needed way more sugar and perhaps flakier, sweeter crust. I'm just sayin'! Truth is, I've never been much of an apple pie fan away.

I finished kitchen clean-up then prepped Tuesday's coffee. It was only 540pm. Wow, now that surprised me. It's not that unusual for me not to leave work until 540pm. But here I was at home with dinner behind us, and the kitchen already cleaned. Now what do I do? While Mindy headed up to change into comfy clothes, I played around on my PC. While checking email, I came across one I over looked from Time Warner Cable announcing that they were finally launched the NFL channel. I headed to the TV to see if it was already coming through. Yep! That means Thursday night NFL games for the rest of the season. Wahoo!

With the NFL Network whirling on the TV leading up to MNF, I turned the volume low and got situated in the family room chair and did some reading. Of course my reading lead to a well deserved nap. And it turns out that I slept for much longer than usual, not waking until the kids came in the front door sometime around 8pm. It took a few minutes for the grogginess to wear off but once it did I felt fully refreshed and eager for some football. The game featured the Seahawks and Packers from Seattle.
Both kids readied for bed soon after the game kicked off. Jacob asked what channel the game was on in his room where he has basic service. Mindy & I watched most of the first half together. We both like Seattle's new uniforms. The Seahawks played unbelievable defense in the first half sacking Aaron Rogers a total of eight times. Unfortunately, they only managed to score 7 points and held a 7-0 lead at the half. I was afraid that slim lead wouldn't hold through the entire game.

As Mindy headed up to bed she shared that we could catch the rest from bed. I agreed to join her shortly but wanted to stay downstairs for a little while longer. I ended up watching well into the 3rd quarter where the Packers pulled to within 1 point, trailing 7-6. I headed upstairs near 1030pm. Mindy was still awake and agreed to let me turn on the game. She was betting I'd fall asleep in a few short minutes. I ended up watching for at least 30 minutes, or long enough to see the Packers score a TD and take the lead 12-7. It was near 11pm. I turned the TV off, rolled over and went to sleep.